Life Skills| Five Fun Frugal Ways to Host Guests
Ever wonder how to have guests over on a budget without serving boring or cheap tasting food? Here are five fun frugal ways to host guests while not breaking the bank. Life skills take time to learn and implement; especially when you are new to living on your own – check out the life skills series so we can all work together to conquer this thing called “adulting”.
QUICK RECIPES:
CHILI (Crockpot or Stovetop)
8-10+ Servings
INGREDIENTS
1 lb ground beef
1 cans chili beans w/ juice
3 cans kidney beans (drained)
1 can great northern beans (drained)
4 cans diced tomatoes
1 chopped onion
2 tsp fresh garlic
½ T oregano
½ T cumin
1 T paprika
½ tsp red pepper
4 T chili powder
1 T Italian seasoning
DIRECTIONS
• In a skillet – sauté onions and beef – drain – put in crockpot or big soup pan
• Put everything else into crockpot/soup pan - Stir
• Crockpot: cook on low for 4+ hours
• Stovetop: bring to boil, then simmer for 30+ min (longer it simmers the better it tastes
• Serve with cheese, sour cream, green onions, chips/crackers
CHEESE & MEAT PENNE BAKE
Serves 8-10
Pasta
16 oz penne pasta
Spinach (fresh or frozen & however much you want in the pasta)
Meat
16 oz meat (chicken, sausage, ground pork)
1 onion - diced
1 tsp basil
1 T Italian seasoning
1-2 tsp garlic (powder or fresh)
Sauce
4 oz cream cheese
15 oz tomato sauce
15 oz diced tomatoes
8 oz tomato paste
Toppings
1 cup shredded mozzarella
Sprinkling parmesan cheese (optional)
Directions
Pasta
• Cook pasta according to directions on bag
• Add spinach to pot for one min after pasta is done
• Drain
Meat
• While water is getting to boil for pasta, cook meat in skillet with olive oil
• Add seasonings while it is cooking
• When done add garlic and cook till translucent
Sauce
• Add cream cheese to meat and spread around till it is melty
• Add all tomatoes and stir till all combined
Assemble
• Put pasta/spinach into a sprayed 13X9 pan (or two 8X8 if want to freeze some)
• Pour chicken/sauce over pasta and gently stir till sauce covers all pasta
• Sprinkle cheeses over the top
NOTE: At this point the dish can be frozen. When ready to eat defrost night before and then put in fridge – bake per normal.
Bake
• Bake in preheated oven at 375 for 20 min or till a little bubbly.
COUNTRY QUICHE
6-8 Servings
Ingredients
¼ cup (less or a little more) bacon bits
1 small onion – chopped
4 eggs
2 T milk
2 T flour
1 tsp dried parsley
¼ tsp dried thyme
Salt and pepper to taste
¼ cup shredded mozzarella
½ cup shredded cheddar cheese
1 (9 inch) unbaked pie crust
Directions
• Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees
• Mix flour and milk together till not clumpy
• Mix all ingredients (except pie crust) together
• Pour into unbaked pie crust
• Bake in preheated oven for 35-40 min – till lightly brown on top and firm in middle
NOTE: Can make into mini quiches by using 2 containers crescent rolls – flatten and cut into small circles – press crust circles into greased mini muffin tins – put 1 tsp egg mix in – bake 20-25 min
HELPFUL LINKS:
-- All Recipes Ingredient Search: http://bit.ly/allrecipesingredientsearch
Electronic Coupons: Ibotta - http://bit.ly/Ibottaregister. Feel free to use my referral code of: sbzsha – you get $10 and I get $5!
Target Coupons: http://bit.ly/cartwheelcoupons
Grocery Coupons: http://bit.ly/2generalcoupons
-- Aldi App: http://bit.ly/aldifavoritestore
For further details on Life Skills with Food:
Life Skills: Top Five Food Tips: http://bit.ly/FHtopfivefoodtips
Life Skills: Menu Planning: http://bit.ly/FildaHouseMenuPlanning
Life Skills: Food Prep: http://bit.ly/FHfoodprep
Life Skills: Food Substitutions: http://bit.ly/FHfoodsubstitutions
Life Skills: Don’t Throw it Out!: http://bit.ly/FHdontthrowitout
Life Skills: Buying Food: http://bit.ly/FHbuyingfood
Follow Filda House:
FACEBOOK: http://bit.ly/FildaHouseFB
INSTAGRAM: @sefendrich